- Jun 8, 2010
- 4
- 0
- 18,510
Hi everybody. My family and I have been experiencing a real frustrating problem with lag on our wired network and we cannot figure out the rhyme or reason for it.
We have had connection problems in terms of the internet dropping out requiring a router reboot at random times of day for many months now. When it got so bad (6+ times a day) we bought a new router thinking our SMC Barricade was dying (4+ years old). We replaced it initially with a Linksys E2000 only to realize it couldn't handle two Xbox 360's on Live and exchanged it for a Netgear WNR3500L.
While the router fixed numerous connectivity issues (bad NAT/firewall, random internet drop outs), it seemed to leave in its wake a baffling problem of cyclic lag spikes. By cyclic I mean about every minute or so we receive lag spikes of 500-1200ms which lasts about 20-30 seconds persistently after which network latency is restored to ~30ms. Then another minute passes of 30ms normality before the cycle repeats and we spike again. I've graphed the pattern of cyclic lag on a program called PingPlotter pinging www.google.com every 5 seconds for an hour at a time, as well as my ISP's website www.optonline.net. There are peaks and valleys (mountains and valleys more like it) representing what I've described. Note that all networked devices (including especially the Xbox 360's, experience this lag concurrently).
We've had our cable company send technicians out now three times (today being the third time) but to no avail, this problem persists. The technician today replaced our entire cable modem (and gave us an upgrade) and cable connections in our garage where our network equipment resides. They don't seem to detect any problems after their work is done and leave only for me to come home and it still be there.
To better describe how our network is laid out since it is very complicated, I will attempt to 'draw' a diagram and perhaps that can help shed light on potential problem causers.
[Main line cable feed from under street]-----to our house----> (Split into two dedicated lines: 1 for cable TV, the other for cable internet) ---> Cable internet feed to back of [Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem -- brand new today] ------> WAN RJ45 from modem to WAN port of [NETGEAR WNR3500L - brand new router] -----> LAN 1 RJ45 feeds to adjacent [SMC network switch #1], LAN 2 RJ45 feeds to adjacent [SMC network switch #2] ----> Switches #1 and #2 permit LAN connections to split off into what becomes individual RJ45 network drops in each room in our house.
The wiring was done during renovation so ethernet cable is run from our garage (from the switches) to each individual room through the walls.
In my room, my RJ45 drop connects to a NETGEAR switch which provides my desktop, xbox, TV (1 empty port) with connectivity.
The cable company technicians checked the quality of our co-axial cable signal and found that it was within normal operation specifications.
Can anyone suggest possible causes for cyclical lag like this? I am tech savvy but am absolutely stumped. I've exhausted every idea come up with, and even shelled out $100 for the new router hoping to solve our problems once and for all. Needless to say I am both sad and frustrated.
Thanks in advance
We have had connection problems in terms of the internet dropping out requiring a router reboot at random times of day for many months now. When it got so bad (6+ times a day) we bought a new router thinking our SMC Barricade was dying (4+ years old). We replaced it initially with a Linksys E2000 only to realize it couldn't handle two Xbox 360's on Live and exchanged it for a Netgear WNR3500L.
While the router fixed numerous connectivity issues (bad NAT/firewall, random internet drop outs), it seemed to leave in its wake a baffling problem of cyclic lag spikes. By cyclic I mean about every minute or so we receive lag spikes of 500-1200ms which lasts about 20-30 seconds persistently after which network latency is restored to ~30ms. Then another minute passes of 30ms normality before the cycle repeats and we spike again. I've graphed the pattern of cyclic lag on a program called PingPlotter pinging www.google.com every 5 seconds for an hour at a time, as well as my ISP's website www.optonline.net. There are peaks and valleys (mountains and valleys more like it) representing what I've described. Note that all networked devices (including especially the Xbox 360's, experience this lag concurrently).
We've had our cable company send technicians out now three times (today being the third time) but to no avail, this problem persists. The technician today replaced our entire cable modem (and gave us an upgrade) and cable connections in our garage where our network equipment resides. They don't seem to detect any problems after their work is done and leave only for me to come home and it still be there.
To better describe how our network is laid out since it is very complicated, I will attempt to 'draw' a diagram and perhaps that can help shed light on potential problem causers.
[Main line cable feed from under street]-----to our house----> (Split into two dedicated lines: 1 for cable TV, the other for cable internet) ---> Cable internet feed to back of [Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem -- brand new today] ------> WAN RJ45 from modem to WAN port of [NETGEAR WNR3500L - brand new router] -----> LAN 1 RJ45 feeds to adjacent [SMC network switch #1], LAN 2 RJ45 feeds to adjacent [SMC network switch #2] ----> Switches #1 and #2 permit LAN connections to split off into what becomes individual RJ45 network drops in each room in our house.
The wiring was done during renovation so ethernet cable is run from our garage (from the switches) to each individual room through the walls.
In my room, my RJ45 drop connects to a NETGEAR switch which provides my desktop, xbox, TV (1 empty port) with connectivity.
The cable company technicians checked the quality of our co-axial cable signal and found that it was within normal operation specifications.
Can anyone suggest possible causes for cyclical lag like this? I am tech savvy but am absolutely stumped. I've exhausted every idea come up with, and even shelled out $100 for the new router hoping to solve our problems once and for all. Needless to say I am both sad and frustrated.
Thanks in advance
Just like other household routers it's a piece of crap.
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